As someone who has never known real discrimination I can only vaguely imagine the importance of Barack Obama becoming President today. In an ideal world, this will prove to any racists that if a black man can rule the free world, then surely we are all equal. That’s a romantic and idealised view, but one I’d love to see come to fruition.
What does this victory mean for the rest of the world? A world where the “Allies of the willing” aren’t bullied into going to war and losing lives that shouldn’t be lost, money that shouldn’t be spent.
There are things I wasn’t expecting to see in my lifetime, like the Berlin Wall coming down. Maybe it’s my ignorance and naivety, but a black man in the White House never seemed illogical to me. Let’s hope he leads the world into financial recovery, out of a war that isn’t going anywhere and into a much brighter future.
Congratulations President-elect Obama.
You know, I don’t think I’ve ever got tears in my eyes when reading your site … but I did today. At your opening sentence about never encountering real discrimination. Because I have. More than once. And it just hit me, like it did last night when HE WON. Thanks for the good thoughts, my dear friend.
It’s a victory big on symbolism and contrasts. All state referenda (http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/ballot.measures/) banning gay adoption and gay marriage have also succeeded, including a retrospective one in California. And 13,000 votes is all that separates Colorado’s ballot to end affirmative action from becoming law.
I hope we have no just witnessed a re-adjustment of prejudices in the euphoria of this win.
You may believe an American President rules the free world I do not just my view.
However a great step forward for all
Congratulations to Barack Obama
Big changes here to come. All racial curtains in the US all came down and it will be a domino effect I hope throughout the world. Congratulations OBAMA.
Big day indeed!
That man certainly knows how to give a speech and as he said in his acceptance – there is a huge way to go and there will be stumbles along the way. But hopefully, he can live up to his potential and the goodwill that is widely apparent at the moment will remain.
Expectations are enormous [probably too great] and the job of US president hasn’t been this tough in years. Let’s not forget that America is still a divided country; the world continues to lurch from one crisis to the next and the challenges are huge.
But hope springs eternal.
We should all wish President Obama well in the task ahead.
Sad day for equality, actually. I am an Aussie living in LA. Exit polls indicate that blacks voted overwhelmingly to ban gay marriage in California. Whites and Latinos were more supportive of equality. In the race to elect a black man, those formerly oppressed have forgotten what equality is.
Also very telling that much of the MSM has been quick to point out the racism of more than 46% of caucasians voting against a black man, but see no racism in 95% of black people voting against a white man — in fact that’s a figure you’re unlikely to know unless you go looking for it.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad it was him and not McCain, but I urge people to show a bit of objectivity when it comes to these things. Voting for a black man because he’s black and you want to “end discrimination” is equally as discriminatory as voting for a white man because you don’t want a black man to win.
As a person who lives about 20 miles north of Obama, I am deeply saddened by his victory, As a US senator he has done nothing for the state of Illinois. He was a junior senator who really accomplished little and abstained the majority of the time when it came to voting. Nothing would have made me happier than having a fellow Chicagoan as President, but he lacks experience and I fear the repercussions of having a man who could take the US down to the point of no return. It was his party that caused the majority of the financial crisis the US faces now. The Democrats insisted on loans for poor people and because the press has been biased toward liberals they refuse to acknowledge this fact. And while I am not thrilled with Bush, he has done the most to appoint minorities in top positions of his cabinet, something most people refuse to acknowledge.
I think that as Barack Obama has stated himself, this is a perfect opportunity to begin healing the wounds of racism in our Country. Let us look at how far forward this step has taken us, not the mistakes of the past. Now all races, creeds, sexual orientations, what have you, have no excuse not to pitch in and help solve current problems because it has been shown that no one will be held back from doing so in our democracy. Congratulations President-elect Barack Obama!
To bad he’s extremely unqualified to be president, but I guess experience isnt important to run the most powerful country in the world anymore…just skin color.